Jealousy
by JulietteSketch
Summary: Kai's POV. Kai just came back to Mineral Town for the summer. He meets Claire, But will her dark secret and Popuri and Gray's jealousy keep them apart? Rated T for some language used in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Today, I arrived in Mineral Town. Ann had advised me that someone had taken over the rundown farm. I bet Thomas put up another ad to attract people. The ship docked at the pier which meant it was time to get off. As usual, I left my bags with Zack. The first face I saw when I got down was a small girl with blonde hair. When was the last time there was a blonde girl in town?

Popuri came up to me, with that…annoying, jittery, attitude. Even I'm sick of it. "Oh my gosh Kai! You've been gone a long time! What'd you see? Did you see new places?"

"Eh, same thing every year. Nothing new." She knows we are just friends though. "Who's the new girl?"

"Oh, you mean Claire?" She seemed a bit disappointed. Claire was tossing a flying disk with a tan colored dog.

"Since when has she been here?"

"Sometime in early spring I suppose." She placed a worried finger over her chin.

The small girl had sapphire blue eyes that seemed to match her overalls. "Kai?" Popuri waved her hand in front of my face. "Earth to Kai"

"Yes?" I said a bit annoyed.

"You spaced out for a few seconds."

"Ah, okay. I better get my things in the inn.

"Wait," She ran over to the blonde-haired girl. I couldn't make out what they were saying but I was sure I was involved. "Kai, Claire. Claire, Kai. Have fun." She smiled, devilishly at me.

"Um, hey. I run the shack over there." I pointed to my, very small, restaurant. She nodded her head as she balanced on her heels.

"I own the farm down south. Nice meeting you." She waved as she turned around to walk home with her dog. Nice girl.

I walked home to the inn. I was by Ann, Gray, Doug, and surprisingly, Cliff.

"Welcome back Kai." Doug said while cleaning a glass cup. Gray was off in a corner playing cards with Cliff.

"Afternoon Kai." Gray said casually.

"…Hey Kai." Cliff didn't stutter but I could tell it bother him that I was here.

I walked up stairs and laid on my bed, tomorrow was the all you can eat festival and yet I hadn't told the new girl. Maybe she already knows….maybe not. I laid on my bed deciding if I should go tell her. After ten minutes of deciding, I finally got up and left for the farm.

When I stepped foot into her property, all I saw was green grass and crops planted all around.

Claire was sitting under a tree that had been there since the previous owner passed away. The same dog was I saw earlier was with her. I walked over to her. "Hey, I just wanted to let you know that there is going to be an All-You-Can-Eat Buffet tomorrow at the beach, I just wanted to make sure you knew." I was just about to leave when I left a small tug on my sleeve. "Thanks" She mumbled.

"No problem, but are you okay?" Ann had told me she was an energetic girl but Claire seems…depressed.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She whistled for her dog to come with her home. _Something is wrong with her. _I walked back over to the inn to ask Ann about it.

"Ann, what's wrong with Claire? You said she was and energetic person and when I saw her, she seemed depressed."

"I don't know. Everyone is worried about her. She doesn't do anything other than play with her dog. It's a miracle she actually talked to you. She won't talk to _anyone_."

_She won't talk to anyone? _"Thanks Ann, I'm a go to sleep." I stood p and walked upstairs. Cliff was already asleep. _Poor guy_. Gray was on his bed reading a book. I changed into a grey t-shirt and grey sweatpants.

_**The next day……**_

I was behind the counter taking orders. Once I had finished everything, I had noticed Claire hadn't come. _Maybe she had better things to do_. "Gray, watch over the shack for me. I'll be right back!" I took of my apron **[A/N I don't know….] **

I walked on to the farm, Claire wasn't any where to be seen on the field. I knocked on the door once. No answer. Twice. No answer. Three times.

I figured she wasn't on the farm. I walked past the farm and onto the Goddess Pond. She wasn't there. I went to Mother's Hill **[I forget what it's called.] **

Claire stood at the tip about to jump. She took one step into mid-air. "Claire!" She slightly turned her head to look at me and proceeded to jumping off. I grabbed the back of her overalls before she could fall off.

"What the hell were you planning on doing? Trying to commit suicide?" I yelled. She looked down before answering to me.

"Why does it even matter to you! You know nothing about me! You don't even know anything about me or my past!" She proceeded to jumping off again and once again, I stopped her.

"What happened." I whispered. She stood still for a while.

"My mother just passed away as for my father, he was the murderer. I'm the next victim." She looked back down. "I wanted to commit suicide so my father couldn't hurt me."

"I'm sorry." Was all I could say. "Promise me you won't commit suicide."

"I can't make that promise, but I'll try my best not to." She walked away. Hopefully, she went home.

Back a the beach, Gray was upset that I was gone for too long. "Kai, You took forever! People still wanted to order and I made this." He showed me something that looked like a rock.

"You're not supposed to cook rocks."

"It was supposed to be a sandwich." h mumbled. A few minutes later, Thomas announced it was the end of the event and it was time to go home.

_**The Next Day…**_

I was behind the counter of my shack, reading one of Gray's books. The door knob turned and in came Claire.

"Hi, Kai." She took a seat at one of the stools. "I figured I'd come today." She seemed a bit better now. I decided not to bring the topic up.

"What would you like?"

"…Ice cream!" She shouted it like a child would. I went into the back to get a tub of ice cream.

*

Claire and I talked for a while about her _evil _animals plotting to kill her.

"It's getting late, I better go, maybe I'll come tomorrow if I have time." She waved and by then, she was gone.

I was just about to close up when Popuri came in. "Kai!" She squealed. "You seem to be getting awfully close to Claire." I could see the look of jealousy on her face. I dismissed it and continued our conversation.

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**A/N, OKay, The next chapter won't be up for a while cause this is all i could think of. REviews are very well appreciated. I want to make this really logn fic. **


	2. Chapter 2

I quickly got out of bed today. I didn't want to be there when Gray woke up. It was like poking a bear with a stick. I walked downstairs and checked the calendar. Sunday. I don't like Sundays. I have nothing to do. I just sit around at the inn or I go bother Gray at work.

I walked down the road to Saibara's shop. "Morning Saibara." He only grunted. I took my usual spot behind the counter. I searched in the drawers for something to play with but unsuccessfully, I found nothing. Gray walked into his granddad's shop. I saw annoyance in his eyes once he saw me. But it was normal. He only had to survive me for about four days a year.

"Saibara!" I whined. "I'm bored." I gave the best pout I could. Gray smirked.

"Why don't you just go home?" Saibara almost yelled at me.

"Cause, if I leave, I'll have nothing to do. Cliff is scared of me. Popuri is like a magnet and-"

"Hello?" Claire walked in the grouchy blacksmith's shop. "I brought the ore you wanted." She handed the man a bag filled with ores.

"Thank-you Claire." The old man went into the back room and returned with a bag of money.

"Hey Claire." Gray flashed her a smile which was very odd considering he was always upset.

"Morning Gray." Gray pulled her into a hug…A HUG? Gray must've seen my expression because he immediately stuck his tongue out. "Hi Kai, what are you doing here? I figured you would be at your shop."

"I come here to annoy Gray every Sunday. And besides, it's my day off."

"Oh well, I'll see you around then." She waved her small hand and left.

"I'll see you around Gray." I got of the chair and walked outside into the fresh air. "I really should think of stuff to do here. Weeks pass by fast here." I mumbled to myself. It was only noon and I was already bored. I walked to the library. I had taken a liking to those novels Gray reads.

"Hey Mary." Her head quickly shot up from her book.

"Oh, Hi Kai. What brings you here? I'm not trying to sound rude but, since when did you like reading?"

"I don't know. Gray had one of those novels you wrote lying around the other day and I read a couple of the first pages and liked it. And, I'm here `cause I want the squeal."

"Oh, Try looking over there." She pointed to one of the many piles of books on a table. I searched the table until I finally saw the title. "Mary, did you notice Gray is getting closer to the new girl? I mean, isn't that odd. He doesn't have many close friends and him become friends with a GIRL is sort of odd." Mary looked at me a bit confused.

"What do you mean Kai?"

"I mean, he probably likes this girl." Mary looked down at her desk and took a deep breath. "The bad thing about it is, I like the girl and he is getting in the way of me getting to know her…" I mumbled the last part. It finally smacked me in the face. "How about we get them apart. You get your Gray, And I get to know Claire."

"I don't know Kai, I don't like getting between two people."

"But don't you like Gary? I thought you did, but I guess I'll have to do this alone…all alone. Gray will be crying the night away…alone." I was about to walk out of the library when Mary called me.

"Okay, I'll do it." I couldn't help but grin.

"Perfect. Lets talk strategy." I stayed at the library until late at night when I finally rel8ized it was soon to be one in the morning. "Operation Break Them Apart commences tomorrow. With that, I left for the inn.

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**[Authors note] Sorry for such a short chapter. The next one really wont be out for about a couple of weeks because school starts in a few days for me which means all of my stories are going to be put off for sometime until i get back on track. But, i hope you enjoyed readin this so far. :] And for those who don't understand the part about gray, Yes, he does like Claire but he doesn't know her plans about suicide. **


	3. Chapter 3

"Morning Mary." I stepped foot into her library once again. She looked up from her novel and stared at me with her dark blue eyes.

"Kai, I thought about last night and…I don't think we should interfere."

"Come on. Gray will never notice you if you don't step up to the plate. And most definitely Claire won't even notice me."

"But Ka-"

"Do you or do you not!" I didn't mean for it to come out like that but what is done is done.

"Kai, I really don't want either of them to get hurt. I can't. I'm going to have to ask you to leave." She threw me a sorrowful look. I left with out any other word.

"Great," I mumbled to myself. "Now, I have to do this by myself." I wandered aimlessly down the road to the south side of Mineral Town. There was never anything to do here other than piss Rick and Gray off. Speaking of which, I have to go pay a visit to my dearest friend, Rick. *Sarcasm*

I walked onto the home of Popuri, Rick, Lilia, Zack, and Claire….Claire? Rick glared at me while Lilia just smiled. Her husband returned a few summers ago but he divorced her and left after she was cured. Then, Zack confessed a few months later. Popuri came rushing down the stairs in her usual…fluffy pink dress. "Uh, nice meeting you here, Claire."

Claire turned to face me, a smile plastered on her face. "Hi Kai. I just wanted to buy another chicken. I have been saving for a while and it's a whole lot easier now that I've expanded my chicken coop. I'll be going now." She waved and left.

"Bye Claire." I turned around and saw everyone looking at me. Especially chicken boy.

"Kai, you better not get involved with Claire! I don't her relationship with Gray to go from great to horrible." His words made me tingle.

"What do you know about Claire and Gray?" Rick looked at me all confused but then sighed.

"Well. I know that they are childhood friends and they were together for some time now…" Rick trailed off and I took that time to sneak off.

I walked down the dirt road down to the beautiful blonde's home. It was in a better condition than the last time I had seen it. Plants had sprouted everywhere. Trees grew happily everywhere and even a pond had been constructed onto her property. I searched for the blonde beauty but saw nothing. I figured she would be inside her home.

I knocked twice on her door. The petite girl answered the door. "Yes, Kai?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to go take a walk." Those were the only words that popped into my mind.

"Um, sure but I just need to go run a few errands." She looked back into her home and plucked out a piece of paper that was stuffed into a drawer.

"Um, is there anyway in which I can help?" She stared at me with her two pretty blue eyes.

"Thank you, but I can't bother you with my own duties."

"It's fine, I don't have anything to do all day anyway."

"Um, ok. First off, I have to go stop by the market and pick up bread. And then, I have to go to Mary's Library to drop off some of my books. Then I have to stop by the winery and help out….Sorry if I'm boring you but it's like this for me everyday." She placed her hand behind her head and smiled sheepishly.

"It's ok. I don't mind. I have nothing to do anyway. How about I go to the market, you go to Mary's and we meet up at the winery?"

"Thank-you so much Kai." She was quiet for a few seconds and then spoke again. "Kai, how long do you usually stay? Ann told me you only stay for the summer…"

"I do only stay until the summer ends. I usually travel to summery places. But for you, I'd make an exception to say longer.." Time to turn up the charm!

"Nice. Well, I better get going if I want to finish these chores by the evening." She got her list and walked out the door.

"Damn…" I mumbled as I walked out. We walked together until we reached the library where we went our separate ways.

As I entered the small market, where I was greeted by one of the town's gossipers, Sasha.

"Oh! How lovely to see you Kai. What brings you here?" In a lower tone, she covered her mouth with her hand and whispered to me. "There is only one reason why a guy would every walk into a market. Now, tell me who is the lucky lady?" She had a wide grin on her face.

"Um, I'm just here to pick up some stuff for Claire. I showed her a list Claire had jotted down earlier today.

"Oh, well then, give me a second….JEFF! GET DOWN HERE! WE HAVE A CUSTOMER!" She is so hard on the poor guy…

"Sorry Honey," Jeff said as he walked down to greet us. "Oh, Kai, How can I help you?' Sasha hand him the list, he went around the market collecting stuff Claire needed and handed me the bag. "Tell Claire this one is on me." He meekly smiled.

"Bye Jeff, Sasha." I walked out and meet Claire at the Winery.

"You got everything? Wow, I expected you to slack off and not even bother meeting me here…"

"I'm not going to stand up the most beautiful girls here." She blushed a bit and we walked into the winery.

"Morning Duke!" Claire shouted after I placed her groceries on a table near the door.

"Claire, there is nothing you need to do today, you can take the day off." Duke said, counting a pile a few bottles of wine on the cupboard.

"Oh, well, I'll see you tomorrow Duke." Claire said as we walked out. [I got the groceries before I left the winery]

We arrived at her house. She took the plastic bag from my hand and started putting everything it in it's place.

"Kai, what do you want to do now?" Claire said, taking a seat next to me on the couch.

"We could always go to the beach you know." I said, helping put a first-aid kit in a higher cabinet.

"I guess we could go."

"Awesome, you might want to bring a swimsuit you know." I winked at her.

"Psh, no I don't!"

"Then you won't be to swim!" I whined.

She walked into her bedroom and said, "I lady needs her privacy. How 'bout you go to the beach and do whatever you need to do while I change?"

"Fine with me." With that, I left her house and ran to the Inn. "ANN! I NEED A PICNIC BASKET ASAP!" I shouted as I went upstairs to get changed into something better. After a few minutes, I had decided on my purple jersey shorts, white t-shirt, and my favorite purple bandana.

I walked back down stairs, Ann was already with a basket. "So, Kai. You going out with Popuri?"

"No, you know we are just friends." I sighed. Whenever I asked for anything, Ann would ask me whatever I had in mind. I rushed outside and went to the beach where I would show Claire a good time!

I set everything up at the beach under an umbrella. I waited for Claire to arrive and when she finally did, I was amazed…

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**A/N: Sorry for not updating in so long, thank-you to those who have read this! Mary bailed. :( Boo!**

**Atleast Claire and Kai get to go on a date. I REALLY down't know when the next chapter will be up. This story will have irregular updates. **

**Please review. They can influence on how much i update this story. It gives me a sense that someone_ IS_ reading it. **


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